Yarn guide control for winding machines



y 1941- J. o. McKEAN YARN GUIDE CONTROL FOR WINDING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 20, 1959 lNVENTOR '54; ATTORNEYS May 27, 1941. J. o. M KEAN YARN GUIDE CONTROL FOR WINDING MACHINES Filed Feb. 20, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR K4; ATTORNEYS Patented May 2 7, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE YARN GUIDE CONTROL FOR WINDING MACHINES of Massachusetts Application February 20, 1939, Serial No. 257,371

Claims.

My invention is directed to that class of winders which is provided with a reciprocating traverse and a positively driven spindle, and in which the reciprocating yarn guide presses against the surface of the package and moves away from the spindle as the package increases in diameter.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine of the class specified in which the yarn guide is not only arranged to move progressively in a direction away from the spindle as the size of the packages increases, but in which the guide is also arranged automatically to move inwardly toward the spindle so as to resume contact with the surface of the package in case it is temporarily shifted away therefrom by any cause such as an unevenness in the surface of the package formed by a protruding group of yarn coils, an accidental contact with the guide by the operator, the failure correctly to set the guide against the package when beginning operation, periodic cycles of machine vibration, etc.

Another object consists in providingsuch a machine in which the said return movements of the yarn guide are resisted as compared with the progressive outward movement, so as to prevent a sudden reestablishment of contact between the guide and the package which might cause injury as, for instance, by displacing some of the coils near one or both ends.

Another object consists in providing such a machine in which the said resistance to the return movements of the yarn guide is accomplished by a frictional member having contact with a fixed element by 'a construction in which the contact is relatively increased during said return movements as compared with the contact during the progressive outward movement.

Another object consists in providing such a machine in which the said frictional member is so mounted as to permit it, through both manual and automatic adjustment, correctly and accurately to contact with the said fixed element for the purpose stated.

Another object consists in providing such a machine in which the said means for resisting thereturn movements of the yarn guide serves to counteract the tendency of the traverse actuating cam to urge the yarn guide toward and against the package, thus permitting the accurate and uniform winding of soft packages, such, for instance, as silk, which winding calls for light tension on the yarn and light pressure of the yarn guide against the package, while preventing reception by the package of any injurious shock from the traverse cam through the thread guide,

and still permitting the latter to reestablish normal contact with the package in case it is shifted therefrom as hereinabove described.

A further object consists in providing certain improvements in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts whereby the above named and other objects may effectively be attained.

When herein I refer to yarn, I intend to include not only yarn per se, but also thread and other analogous materials suitable to be formed into wound packages by machines of this class.

It has been customary in machines of this class to permit the yarn guide tomove progressively outwardly as the package increased in size, but these arrangements have included means for preventing the guide from movement in the opposite direction when it was shifted out of contact with the package as hereinabove described. This gives rise to serious disadvantages, notably when silk and fine threads of other fibres are wound, because when the yam guide is out of contact with the surface of the package the yarn is traversed back and forth at a shortened traverse length due to lash of the yarn at both ends of the traverse motion. In this condition there is also a lack of pressure on the strand of yarn which is running between the face of the guide and the. surface of the package which results in soft layers of yarn being wound onto the package but, when the package builds up sufficiently in diameter so that it again contacts the guide that has previously been shifted away from it, the pressure of the guide is again exerted against the package which tends to squeeze the soft coils or layers out at the ends of the package thus forming a series of rings. These rings not only spoil the appearance of the package but tend to cause the yarn to catch when it is being drawn off the package in subsequent operations, and this leads to poor work, interruptions in operation from necessary shutdowns, and loss of material.

The disadvantages just named become even more serious when winding the so-called pineapple cones, which are packages formed with both ends beveled or tapered as a result of progressively shortening the traverse of the thread guide during the winding operation. In winding this product, if the thread guide is shifted away from contact with the package and not permitted promptly to reestablish contact, the resultant shortening of. the traverse to an extent greater than desired, and the objectionable lash of the ends of the traverse strokes, both occur to a very undesirable extent and cause rejection of substantial quantities of the output because of pronounced rings on the ends of the packages.

My invention not only eliminates all the disadvantages just recited by causing prompt reestablishment of contact between yam guide and package so that they are only momentarily separated after the former has been shifted out of contact with the latter, but it also attains this highly desirable result without any concurrent or inherent disadvantages of its own, by providing for resistance to the return movement of the yarn guide to the package so that the said movement, while prompt, is relatively slow and gentle.

A practical embodiment oiimy invention is'represented in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 represents a detail outer end view of a winding head embodying my invention in the building of a conical package;

Fig. 2 represents a detail side view of the same;

Fig. 3 represents an enlarged fragmentary end view of certain of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 represents a detail section taken substantially in the plane of the line IV-IV of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 represents an upper end view of the shoe on the pivot screw shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 represents a side view thereof; and

Figs. 7 and 8 represent diagrammatically the force exertions on the pertinent elements that contribute to a greater frictional resistance when the thread guide is urged towards the package than when it is urged in the opposite direction.

The winding head which is, as usual, pivoted to the machine frame at a point not shown, comprises, generally, a cam shaft housing, part of which is shown and marked I, together with a spindle shaft housing, which is also shown in part and marked 2. The spindle shaft 3, which is rotatably mounted in its housing 2, may be driven in the customary manner from any suitable source of power and through any suitable mechanism, not shown herein as the same is well understood in the art. The core 4 of the package 5 may be secured in any approved manner on the outer end of the spindle shaft 3.

The shaft 6 of the traverse cam l is rotatably mounted in the housing and may be driven in any appropriate manner as, for instance, by connection, not shown, with spindle shaft 3,

The laterally swinging holder 3 is pivoted on the cam shaft 6, as is usual, by means of a depending arm 9, and is provided with a relatively fixed guide rod |0 on which the hollow reciprocating traverse guide bar slides. The inner end of the slide bar ll carries a stud or roller I2 which is located in the groove |3 of traverse cam I .for effecting reciprocation of the bar II. The outer end of this bar I carries an uprising arm N that serves to support the usual yarn guide IS.

A retractile coil spring I4 has one end secured to arm 9, as indicated at I, and the other end secured to a nut l3 that is threaded on a screw l8 which traverses and has its head housed in fixed nut l9 that is carried on a bracket I! which is screwed to the housing l as is clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. By turning the screw l8, with a socket wrench or the like, the nut l8 may be caused to move longitudinally of the screw in one direction or the other, thereby distending the spring I or permitting it to contract for varying its eflectlve tension. This spring I serves to overcome the tendency of the holder 3 to fall away from the package 5 under the influence of gravity, and normally urges the face of yarn guide I! against the package with a pressure which may be predetermined by the adjusting nut l3.

The steadying rod 23 is iournaled in arm 3 and a bracket 2| which depends from the holder 8 in spaced relationship to arm I; and to the inner end of rod" there is fixed, as by set screw 22, a collar 23 which carries a laterally projecting arm that has its extremity enlarged to form a support 24. A pivot pin 25, by threaded engagement, is adjustably held in the support 24, and a set screw 26 is provided for holding the pivot pin 25 in any selected adjustment.

The end of pin 25 is reduced into a smooth tip 21, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, which is adapted loosely to receive a tapered shoe 28, and it will be observed that the said shoe is interiorly bored in the form of a combinedcylinder and cone, the cylindrical portion being larger in diameter than the tip 21, and the conical portion varying from a diameter greater than tip 21 to a much smaller diameter. This formation causes the shoe 24 to rest upon the tip 21 so as to permit a slight relative movement therebetween that facilitates maintenance of proper contacting relationship with an arcuate track 29 that coacts with shoe 28 as will be hereinafter described.

The track 29 is fixed to the end of housing I by screws 30 and is so formed and located as to be concentric with cam shaft 6 on which the holder 3 swings, as heretofore described.

The inner face of the arcuate track 29 is provided with a groove 3| that is transversely flared, as represented in Figure 4, so as to nicely receive with a sliding fit the tapered end of shoe; 22.

' As clearly shown in Fig. 6, the said shoe has its ends 28', 28' flared toward the groove 3| so as to provide an extended contacting surface in its direction of movement therein. A retractile coil'spring 32 has one end connected to a stud 33 on pivot pin support 24, and the other end anchored to a stud 34 which projects laterally from arm 30f holder 3. The normal action of the said spring 32 is to urge the support 24 in a clockwise direction by rotating the steadying rod 20, on which the said support is mounted,

in its bearings in arm. 3 and bracket 2|; which action necessarily forces the tapered shoe 23 into the groove 3| in the track 23 so as to maintain frictional sliding engagement between the last named parts. By loosening the set screw 26 and adjusting the pivot pin 2! in the support 24, the shoe 28 can be maintained in propercontact with the groove 3| throughout the entire contacting surface of the shoe; so that the said parts may be accurately related when the machine is set up and maladjustment due to wear or accidental causes may be remedied. It is important to make this adjustment carefully because, if the pivot pin 2! is set too high in the support 24, it will tend to swing the shoe 28 so that more or less of the left-hand part of its contacting surface, when looking at Fig. 3 of the drawings, will be out of proper contact with the groove 3|; while the setting of the pivot pin 25 too low in support 24 will have the same defect with respect to the right-hand portion of the contacting surface of the shoe 23. This is due to the fact that too high justment of pin 25 in support 24 will force the latter in a counter-clockwise direction and thereby bring ment of the pin in the support will permit the latter to swing in a clockwise direction and thereby bring. the longitudinal axis of the pin slightly out of radial relationship to the track 28, with the upper end of the pin lying to the right of the radius and the lower end lying to the left thereof, as the parts are shown in Fig. 3.

the shoe is stationary; and when the machine is running such perfect adjustment provides a large surface of the shoe in movable contact with a large fixed surfaceof the groove under relatively light pressure during the progressive out-.

ward movement of the guide as the package increases in size. thus allowing a comparatively free outward swing; while the opposite movement of the guide causes a smaller surface of the shoe. consisting of its left hand portion (Fig. 3), to engage the groove with relatively heavy pressure and thus increase resistance to the inward swing of the guide. This result is facilitated by the loose engagement of the shoe 28 with the tip 21 of the tapered pin because it permits a slight tilting movement of the shoe on the tip in any direction, so that the shoe constitutes a freely tiltable element located intermediate the suppor 24 and the track 28.

The retractile coil spring 82 which normally urges the support 28 toward the track 28 so as to maintain the shoe 28 in contact with the groove in the track, may be substituted by similar springs of greater or less strength. Thus,

when soft packages are to be wound, the pressure of the guide against the package should be made comparatively light by adjusting spring l8 so as to lessen its tension, and a correspondingly light or weak spring 82 is appropriate in order,

to cause the shoe 28 to press comparatively lightly against the groove in track 28 and thereby produce a comparatively light frictional resistance to movement of the shoe in the groove in a counterclockwise direction. On the other hand, when hard and dense packages are to be wound, the pressure of the guide against the package should be made comparatively heavy by adjusting spring It so as to increase its tension, and a correspondingly heavy or stiff spring is called for in order to increase the pressure of the shoe 28 against the track 28 and thereby increase frictional resistance to movement of the shoe in a counterclockwise direction.

It should further be noted that, in conjunction with the use of springs 82 of various strengths, appropriate adjustment of the threaded pivot pin 25 may be made in order to thereby affect the degree of pressure and frictional contact between the shoe 28 and groove in arc 28 as may be demanded by or appropriate to the character of package being wound.

A handle is fixed on the outer end of the steaclying rod 28 by a set screw 88 so as to permit manual movement of the shoe 28 out of contact with the groove 3| in the track 28. This is accomplished by moving the handle 85 in an anticlockwise direction against the tension of spring 32. When the handle 35 is-released, the last named spring at once restores the shoe 28 into contact with the groove 3i. p a

Referring now to the operation of the mechanism, it will be seen-that, as the package 5 builds up with the yarn 81 during the winding,- the yarn guide I! will be progressively moved to the right in Fig. 1 because the. holder 8 is permitted to swing on the cam shaft '8 as the diameter of the package increases. During this motion the shoe 28, which is mounted on the steadying rod 28 that is carried in the holder 8, will be pulle in a clockwise direction, and slid along in t groove 8i that is formed in the arcuate track 28. This swinging motion of the holder 8 on the cam shaft 8 is balanced by the spring l8 which is ektended and becomes more and more resistant as the holder 8 is swung to a position in which gravity has more effect upon it. Thus the yarn guide I! is maintained in uniform contact with the package as the latter builds up, and the strength of this contact may be adjusted by the nut i8 that acts upon the spring l8.

- In case, for any of the reasons hereinbefore mentioned, or for any other reason, the yarn guide I5 is shifted out of contact with the package 8, the said contact will promptly be reestablished by the action of the spring ii on the holder 8; but the movem thus reestablishing contact between the yarn de and the package will be resisted by the frictilrnal'contact of the shoe 28 and the groove 8i in e track 28-so as to prevent any injury to the package by the yarn guide, because the shoe 28 is less readily moved in the groove 8i in an anti-clockwise direction than in a clockwise direction.

The reason for this difference in frictional resistance to movement of the shoe in the groove is diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings, and may be explained as follows:

In these figures, the points of the triangles are supposed to represent the tilting shoe 28, the steadying. rod 28, and the cam shaft 6, as indicated. When the point 28 is swung along are 0-1: of Fig. 7 in the direction of the arrow, about point 8. due to the building up of the package 5, there is a concurrent tendency for the point 28 to move away from the are 0-1) in the direction of the arrow in arc c-d of Fig. 7 because the point 8 is fixed and the movement of the point 28 to the right tends to make the angle at the point 28 more acute and thereby lessen the distance between pdifitaS and 28. The eflect of this is to ease or decrease the frictional resistance to movement of the intermediate tilting shoe '28 in the groove 8|. when, on the other hand, the point 28 is swung along the are 0-4; in the reverse direction as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 8 of the drawings, under the influence of spring i8, there is a concurrent tendency for the point 28 to move toward the are (0-1; in the direction of the arrow in arc c-d of Fig. 8 because the point 8 is fixed and the movement of the point 28 to the left tends to make the angle at the point 28 more obtuse and thereby increase the distance between points 8 and 28. The effect of this is to strengthen or increase the frictional resistance to movement of the intermediate tilting shoe 28 in the groove 8|. The action may be broadly likened to that of breaking and making a toggle joint, in that, when the pull is exerted by point 28, representing the steadying rod, upon point 28, representing the interposed shoe, as the parts move in a clockwise direction during the building up of the package, the toggle represented by the lines 28--28 and 288 is broken; while the reverse movement which point 20 just described are indicated by. the-arc e--f with the reversed arrows in Figs. 7 and 8.

It should, however, be noted that this operation which has n defined as broadly similar to the making "and breaking of a toggle Joint, is uniquely characterized by the interposition of the pivotally supported, loosely mounted shoe between the support 24 and track ll; so that the increase in resistance to movement of the shoe 2. in track groove II in a counterclockwise direction, as compared with its movement in a clockwise direction, is not the result merely of toggle action but also importantly embodies the functioning of the loosely pivoted, tiltable shoe as hereinabove described. The combination of the so-called toggle action with the characteristic performance of the tilting shoe produces a result which is strikingly novel and effective for the purposes outlined.

As a result of the mechanism that has been described, the objects and advantages heretofore recited are obtained, as well as others inherent in the structure; while the disadvantages set forth are obviated. It should particularly be noted that, while the arrangement permits the prompt return of the yarn guide to operative contact with the package, whenever it is shifted therefrom, said return is so controlled, regulated. and steadied as to eliminate the chance of injury to the package; and that the whole operation of the yarn guide in its relationship to the package is steadied so as to eliminate jerking or Jumping or vibrating action.

It is evident that various changes may be resorted to in the construction, form and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not intend to be limited to the particular embodiment herein shown and described, but what I claim is:

1. In a winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means forcontrolling the swinging motion of the guide, said controlling means including. a swinging armv mounted on the guide support, a fixed arcuate track concentric with the point about which the guide support swings, means for yieldingly urging the said arm'toward the said track, and an element tiltably carried by said am for frictional sliding contact with said track, whereby the swinging movement of the guide support away from the spindle will decrease the intensity of contact of said element with said track on the principle of breaking a toggle carrying a tiltable element, and the reverse movement 01' the guide support will increase the intensity of contact of said element with said track on the principle of making a toggle carrying a tiltable element.

2. In a winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle. and means for controlling the swinging motion of the guide, said controlling means including, a swinging arm mounted on the guide support, a fixed arcuate track concentric with the point about which the guide support swings, means for yieldingly urging the said arm toward the said track, an element tiltably carried by said arm for frictional sliding contact with said track, whereby the swinging movement of the guide support away from the spindle will decrease the intensity of contact of said element with said track on the principle of breaking a toggle carrying a tiltable element, and the reverse movement of guide support will increase the intensity of contact of said element with said track on the principle of making a toggle carrying a tiltable element, and means for adjusting said tiltable element to perfect its frictional contact with said track.

3. In a winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means for con-' trolling the swinging ,motion of the guide. said controlling means including, a swinging arm mounted on the guide support, a fixed arcuate track concentric with the point about which the guide support swings, means for yieldingly urging thesaidarmtowardthesaidtrachandaloosely pivotally mounted element tiltably carried by said arm for frictional sliding contact with said track, whereby the swinging movement of the guide support any from the spindle will decrease the intensity of contact of said element with said track on the principle of breaking a toggle carrying a tiltable element, and the reverse movement of the guide support will increase the intensityof contact of said element with said track on the principle of making a toggle carrying a tiltable element.

4. In a winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means for controlling the swinging motion of the guide, said controlling means including, a swinging arm mounted on the guide support, a fixed arcuate track concentric with the point about which the guide support swings, means for yieldingly urging the said am toward the said track, a loosely pivotally mounted element tiltably carried by said arm for frictional sliding contact with said track, whereby the swinging movement of the guide support away from the spindle will decrease the intensity of contact of-said element with said track on the principle of breaking a toggle carrying a tiltable element, and the reverse movement of the guide support will increase the intensity of contact of said element with said track on the principle of making a toggle carrying a tiltable element, and means for adjusting said tiltable element to perfect its frictional contact with said track.

5. In a winding machine, a package spindle. a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle. and .means for controlling the swinging "motion of the guide, said controlling means including, a swinging arm mounted on the guide support, a fixed arcuate track concentric with the point about which the uide suppo t sw s. means for rie d s v ur in the said arm toward the said-track, a pinmounted in said arm for adjustment toward and away from said track, and an element tiltably carried by said pin for frictional sliding contact with said track.

6. In a winding machine; a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means for controlling the swinging motion of the guide, said controlling means including, a swinging arm mounted on the guide support, a fixed arcuate track concentric with the point about which the from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means actuated by the movement of the guide toward the spindle under the influence of said urging means to retard said movement without stopping it.

8. In a winding machine, a package spindle, a

yarn guide mounted for motion toward and awayfrom the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means actuated by the movement of the guide toward the spindle under the influence of said urging means to retard said movement without stopping it, said retarding means including, a fixed element, a support movable with the guide, and an intermediate element carried by the support and frictionally contacting the fixed element.

9. In a winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means actuated by the movement of the guide toward the spindle under the influence of said urging means to retard said movement without stopping it, said retarding means including, a fixed element, a support movable with the guide, and an intermediate element adjustably carried by the support for regulating its functional efiect and frictionally contacting the fixed element.

10.- In a winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means actuated by the movement of the guide toward the spindle under the influence of said urging means to retard said movement without stopping it, said retarding means including, a fii ed element, a support movable with the guide, ind a loosely pivoted intermediate element adjustably carried by the support for regulating its functional effect and frictionally contacting the fixed element.

11. In a winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means actuated by the movement of the guide toward the spindle under .the influence of said urging means to retard said movement without stopping it, saidretarding means including, a fixed arcuate track concentric with the center about which the guide moves, a support movable with the guide, and an intermediate shoe carried by the support and frictionally contacting the track.

12. Ina winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means actuated by the' movement of the guide toward the spindle under the influence of said urging means to retard said movement without stopping it, said retarding means including, a fixed arcuate track concentric with the center about which the guide moves, a support movable with the guide, and an intermediate shoe adjustably carried .by the support for regulating its functional effect and frictionally contacting the track.

13. In a winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the u de toward the spindle, and means actuated by the movement of the guide toward the spindle under the influence of said urging meansto retard said movement without stopping it, said retarding means including, a fixed arcuate track concentric with the center about which the guide moves, a support movable with the guide, and a loosely pivoted intermediate shoe adjustably carried by the support for regulating its functional effect and frictionally contacting the track.

14. In a winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion toward and away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means actuated by the movement of the guide toward the spindle under the influence of said urging means to retard said movement without stopping it, said retarding means including, a fixed arcuate track having a flared groove therein concentric with the center about which the guide moves, a support movable with the guide, and an intermediate tapered shoe adjustably carried'by the support for regulating its functional effect and frictionally contacting the groove in the track.

15. In a winding machine, a package spindle, a yarn guide mounted for motion towardand away from the spindle, means for urging the guide toward the spindle, and means actuated by the movement of the guide toward the spindle under the influence of said urging means to retard said movement without stopping it, said retarding means including, a fixed arcuate track having a JOHN O. MCKEAN. 

